KNOXVILLE – As the final buzzer sounded Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena, marking a stunning women’s basketball loss to Vanderbilt, a Tennessee fan walking by press row uttered the words “rock bottom.”
After the Lady Volunteers’ performance, it would be hard to argue, considering the circumstances.
For the first time ever, the Commodores won in Knoxville, beating Tennessee 76-69 in front of 7,321.
The Lady Vols (17-11, 6-9 Southeastern Conference) entered the game needing wins against Vanderbilt and in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Ole Miss to solidify their expected spot in the NCAA tournament. Now they likely also need at least one win in the SEC tournament next week in Greenville, South Carolina, just to be considered.
Thirty-three times a Vanderbilt team had visited the Lady Vols in hopes of a win. Thirty-three times they’d lost, with many of those far better teams than the one that came to town Thursday, including a Final Four team, five teams that reached the Elite Eight and 14 that made the Sweet 16. None of those won in Knoxville.